Deploy Django on DCDeploy

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Quick Start: Hello World

1. Create a Django project locally:
   mkdir hello_dcdeploy
   cd hello_dcdeploy
   python3 -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate
   pip install django
   django-admin startproject hellosite .
   
2. Edit hellosite/settings.py to allow all hosts and read port from environment:

# settings.py
import os

ALLOWED_HOSTS = ["*"]
PORT = os.environ.get("PORT", "8000")

3. Optionally add a simple view (if needed) in hellosite/urls.py:

from django.http import HttpResponse
from django.urls import path

def home(req):
    return HttpResponse("Hello DCDeploy from Django!")

urlpatterns = [
    path("", home),
    path("admin/", path),
]

4. Commit and push to your Git provider.

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Overview

• Dockerfile (recommended for full control)
• Build-from-code method (auto-detects Django app) Key concerns include static files, database connections, allowed hosts, and environment configuration.

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Prerequisites

• A Django project with requirements.txt including all dependencies (e.g. Django, gunicorn, psycopg2).
• settings.py using environment variables for sensitive configs (DB credentials, secret key).
• STATIC_ROOT configured and static file collection in build or startup.
• Dockerfile (if using Docker) or autoBuild setup.
• Git repository with your code.

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Step-by-Step Guide

1. Prepare Your Django App

• Set environment variables for DJANGO_SECRET_KEY, DATABASE_URL, etc.
• In settings, allow connections from 0.0.0.0 and the port your service will listen on.
• Configure ALLOWED_HOSTS (for production, include your custom domain or default).
• Set up static files:

STATIC_URL = '/static/'
STATIC_ROOT = os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'staticfiles')

2. Add Dockerfile (recommended) Example Dockerfile:

FROM python:3.11-slim AS builder

WORKDIR /app
COPY requirements.txt ./
RUN pip install --upgrade pip && pip install -r requirements.txt

COPY . .

RUN python manage.py collectstatic --noinput

FROM python:3.11-slim
WORKDIR /app

COPY --from=builder /app /app
EXPOSE 8000

CMD ["gunicorn", "hellosite.wsgi:application", "--bind", "0.0.0.0:${PORT:-8000}"]

3. Push Code to Git

• Initialize repo, commit, push to GitHub or similar.
• Include .dockerignore to exclude venv, pycache, etc.

4. Deploy on DCDeploy

• In DCDeploy dashboard → Environment → Deploy tab.
• Add a new service → choose Build from Code or Docker Registry.
• Provide your Git repo or Docker image.
• Set port to 8000 and protocol (HTTP/HTTPS).
• Select machine type based on expected traffic.
• Provide environment variables:
  • DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE
  • DJANGO_SECRET_KEY
  • DATABASE_URL
  • Other secrets.
• Configure static files: ensure collectstatic is run and static served.
• Adjust scale (minScale/maxScale).
• Deploy and monitor build & deployment, check revision events. Example Service Configuration

services:
  django-app:
    build:
      context: ./
      dockerfilePath: ./Dockerfile
      repo: your-username/hello_django
      ref: main
      refType: branch
      autoBuild: true
    ports:
      - 8000
    protocol: https
    minScale: 1
    maxScale: 2
    environment:
      DJANGO_SECRET_KEY: "{{DJANGO_SECRET_KEY}}"
      DATABASE_URL: "postgres://user:pass@db.internal:5432/mydb"
      DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE: hellosite.settings

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Best Practices

• Use gunicorn (or similar WSGI) for production, not runserver.
• Serve static files via built-in mechanisms or via external storage/CDN.
• Keep SECRET_KEY and other secrets in environment or Secrets management.
• Use internal networking for DB connections and other internal services.
• Enable health checks (e.g. /healthz) to verify readiness.
• If your app is idle, consider scale-to-zero if acceptable.

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Troubleshooting